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Rapture3D Advanced

The heart of Rapture3D is a "Higher
Order Ambisonics" (HOA) decoder which can make great 3D sound on
a wide range of different speaker layouts.

The "Advanced" edition comes with a configuration tool where you
can tell Rapture3D about the locations of the speakers in
a custom speaker layout. The
computer does some calculations to set everything up, and then you can
start using the other Rapture3D components:

AAX and VST2 plugins are included, which can be used in some Digital Audio Workstations
such as Reaper and Pro Tools Ultimate.

The Rapture3D "OpenAL" Driver allows you to use Rapture3D in some
Windows OpenAL games.

The Rapture3D Player allows you to listen to 3D sound prepared in
ambisonic formats.

This advanced edition of the software is intended primarily for
advanced users who need unusual or customisable speaker layouts,
or access to many speakers. If you are not intending to use this feature
you may wish to consider the "User"
edition for gaming, or the O3A
Decoding VST Plugins for pro audio, although only Rapture3D
Advanced can be tailored exactly to your listening environment.

Rapture3D has experimental support for import of
personalized HRTFs from AES69 files (if you
are lucky enough to have such things).

The software is designed to run on macOS (10.7+, or 10.10+ for AES69 support)
or Windows (Win7+) running on 32bit/64bit Intel. We use some free
software, data and artwork in this product. Before purchase, please check the
license agreement.
Prices include VAT where applicable. EU VAT is normally
charged at your local rate using the MOSS VAT system, but please get
in touch before purchase if you need a business-to-business transaction.
By beginning the download process
you agree to be bound by our terms
and conditions.

Highlights

Layout Configuration

The advanced edition comes with a configuration tool that lets you
set up custom speaker layouts and change
other audio settings.

Speaker layouts are customisable and can use large numbers of speakers. There is also a wide range of presets provided, including 5.1, 7.1, 3D7.1, Auro-3D* and 22.2. The Rapture3D headphone decoders are also available, and more.

[*] Note that the Auro-3D support does not include Auro bitstream encoding.

AAX and VST2 Plugins

The current selected decoder can be used as a AAX or VST2 plugin,
processing FuMa- or SN3D-encoded ambisonic B-Format
audio at up to third order. For VST, there are four versions of this plugin included in the
plugin library which produce all output channels at once. These provide
up to 16, 32, 64 or 128 output channels. The AAX version supports 16 output channels.

There is also a version which allows complex multichannel
decoders with many channels to be distributed over multiple CPU cores. This splits the output into
eight-channel "blocks" which can be produced on separate tracks. Some DAWs (e.g.
Reaper or Pro Tools Ultimate) can then calculate the blocks on
separate CPU cores.

These plugins can be hosted in some Digital
Audio Workstations (DAWs) that can handle tracks with at least 16 channels.
Options include Reaper,
Pro Tools Ultimate,
Pyramix and Max/MSP. Not all plugins are supported in Pro Tools Ultimate.

Rapture3D OpenAL Driver

The Rapture3D OpenAL driver enables the full power of Rapture3D
within some OpenAL Windows games. Some games include a version of it,
some can be persuaded to use it easily and some more can be made to
work if you're prepared to make modificiations to your system. Take a
look at our compatible games page for
more details.

Please note that only some existing OpenAL games are compatible
with Rapture3D and most of those require technical modifications to
your system before they will run properly! See
our game notes for more
details.

The macOS version of this edition also includes a version of the
OpenAL driver. macOS does not use a system-wide OpenAL router, so this
is intended for software development. That said, you may be able to
make it work with some existing OpenAL games if you know what you're
doing.

The Advanced edition of the Rapture3D OpenAL driver features the following:

Rapture3D Player

The Rapture3D Player plays FuMa-encoded
ambisonic sound files at up to third
order and SN3D sound files
at up to seventh order, depending on the decoder used and CPU allowing.

Plugin List

O3A Decoder - Rapture3D Advanced

I/O: 16 in, 16, 32, 64 or 128 out
AAX: only 16-channel output supported, mapped to third order ambisonics

This plugin renders high quality multichannel audio from a first, second or third order ambisonic input. It is configured in a separate application.

O3A Decoder Block - Rapture3D Advanced

I/O: 16 in, 8 out
AAX: output mapped to 7.1

This plugin renders high quality multichannel audio from a first, second or third order ambisonic input. It is configured in a separate application. Multiple plugins can be used together to achieve high channel counts.

Tech Requirements

Operating System

Rapture3D "User" edition is not available on macOS, although the "Advanced" edition is. Both are available on Windows.

Supported versions of Microsoft Windows are Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. Supported versions of Apple macOS are 10.7 or later, Intel only. However, the Rapture3D Advanced HRTF import feature requires macOS 10.10 or later to work correctly.

The studio plugins run on Windows or macOS. The VST plugins are available in 32bit or 64bit forms on both platforms (packaged as a Universal Binary on macOS). The AAX plugins are 64bit only. The plugins can process first, second or third order B-Format using the FuMa or SN3D convention. They are not included with the Rapture3D "User" edition.

The Rapture3D OpenAL driver runs on Windows or macOS. It is available in 32bit or 64bit forms on both platforms (packaged as a Universal Binary on macOS).

The Ambisonic Player and other supporting software run on Windows or macOS, 32bit or 64bit. 32bit binaries are used on Windows and 32bit/64bit Universal Binaries are used on macOS.

VST Host

The VST plugins require a VST 2 host with shell plugin support. They are not included with the Rapture3D "User" edition.

These plugins do not work with all VST 2 hosts. One reason for this is that the O3A plugins need large numbers of channels on their input or output busses. Check the individual plugins for the channel counts they need, but all of the O3A plugins need at least 16 channels on each track, and some need more. Also note that not all VST 2 hosts can use shell plugins. In particular, at the time of writing shell plugins are not supported in Nuendo or Cubase.

AAX Host

The AAX plugins require Pro Tools Ultimate, or Pro Tools HD v12.8.2 or later. They are not included with the Rapture3D "User" edition.

Due to channel and stem restrictions, not all plugins are supported in AAX. Please see the documentation for details.

PC Hardware

Please check your PC meets the following requirements:

Intel Core i5 CPU or better. High quality or high orders will need substantially better hardware.

300MB of free disk space.

4GB of RAM.

Internal network card.

A working DirectSound-compatible sound card with up-to-date drivers. (And, if you want to use ASIO with the "Advanced" edition, a working ASIO-compatible sound card with up-to-date drivers.)

Internet Connection Required

The "User" and "Advanced" editions of Rapture3D available from this website require an Internet Connection for license activation and verification. We don't really like this, but we can't think of a better way to discourage piracy! Please don't hack our code, it's taken a lot of effort to get it this far...

Successful license verification isn't required every time you use Rapture3D, but it is needed during installation and needs to succeed once every couple of weeks to keep the license fresh.

The license can be "revoked" to remove it from one machine so it can be moved on to another. You should also do this if you're updating your system in case the machine appears to have changed identity.